Deep Blush
by Kakashi's Boo
Summary: Deep Blush is a story about the gradual maturing of the relationship between former sensei Hatake Kakashi and his former pupil Haruno Sakura.
1. Chapter 1

Deep Blush

By: Kakashi's Boo

Hatake Kakashi sat once again on a hospital bed waiting to be checked and then released. His last mission took a lot out of him, but he felt fine at the moment.

Yeah he still had a couple of bruises, a concussion, and a cracked rib or two, but that was nothing a few days rest at home with his favorite book _Make out Tactics_

couldn't fix.

Haruno Sakura was the nurse on duty when the silver ninja was admitted. Sakura was always happy to see her friends made it back alive from their missions, but

it depressed her to see them all beat up and on the verge of death at times. When she heard her old sensei was in the building once more, Sakura made sure she

was his nurse.

Kakashi sat patiently on the hospital bed waiting for the nurse to come on and release him. His warm bed and _Make out Tactics _was calling his name. He just hoped

for a nice nurse this time. The last time he came, he had to deal with a loud mouth, overbearing, and abusive nurse that fussed and punched him in the arm

because he let himself get messed up like he had. Although that nurse did have some qualities that caught his eye. Like the way she smiled and told him how

relieved she was to see him home safe. The sparkle in her emerald eyes made him smile as he watched her work on him. Kakashi had had a deep wound on his

neck and remembered smelling the nurse's sweet cherry perfume as she stood close to his face. The ninja sat recalling the feeling of the young nurse's chakra

racing through his body. He thought about how hot his neck was getting from the heat of the woman's small palms hovering over it. He remembered how every

once and a while some her pink strands would caress his masked face. He remembered her biting her bottom lip in concentration. Those soft pink li…

Kakashi slapped himself trying to stop the madness that was forming in his brain. He could feel his heart beating faster and felt completely embarrassed for

thinking of his former student in such ways. Just as he was calming down a bit, the room door swung open.

The little pink haired nurse walked in casually and put down the clipboard she had in her hand next to the masked ninja on the bed. "So I see you landed yourself

in the hospital again Kakashi sensei." Started the nurse. "You really need to be more careful." She continued. "You're all bruised up, two broken ribs, and on top of

that you have a slight concussion. What are you trying to do kill yourself?" Kakashi smiled with his one visible eye. "No. I just had got a little banged up that's all."

Kakashi new this excuse wouldn't appease the young woman in front of him and he waited for impact. The punch came to his right arm this time since his left was

bruised already.

Kakashi rubbed his arm remembering a time when Sakura only gave this special treatment to Naruto. His arm hurt from the punch, but his heart warmed because

he knew Sakura only hurt the ones she really cared for.

Sakura laughed inwardly just happy to see her former teacher alive and in good spirits. She only recently started to punch him when she was mad at him. The first

time it happened was purely by accident. Kakashi had recklessly fought and almost had his right arm severed. Sakura knew it would take all night to heal him, and

that frustrated the crap out of her. She had the night all planned out before old silver arrived. It was to be the first relaxation night she had in months. The bubble

bath, romance novel, and assorted chocolates were all waiting for her beside the scented candle rimmed tub at home. Then Kakashi got wheeled into the hospital

looking all pitiful, and Sakura knew her plans for the evening were shot. The silver ninja should be happy he only got a punch. It took all of Sakura's strength to

not rip his arm off herself for ruining her wonderful evening. But as she worked on him that night Sakura couldn't help but smile. The smile most likely came from

being able to strip her hot former teacher from the waist up. Rippling muscles on an unconscious sexy guy will do that to a girl.

Sakura had had a crush on her former teacher for some time before that night. She had actually formed the crush when she was still his student. Everyone always

thought that Sakura was head over heals for Sasuke. This was true for a while, but Sasuke left and as the old saying goes, "Out of sight out of mind." Even after

Sakura got to meet up again with Sasuke at Orochimaru's hide out years later, her feelings for him did not return. Even though she did find him quite alluring in his

new more revealing outfit. She noticed a little pec action going on there, but his I don't care about anything but killing my brother attitude was a real turn off. Plus

Sakura was maturing. She no longer wanted the tortured soul type. She found herself becoming more attracted to the mature, strong, and silent type. Kakashi had

always been there for Sakura and Naruto. He didn't let his emotions drive him to a murderous revenge binge. Sakura finally realized that Sasuke is a boy and

Kakashi is a man. And Sakura wanted a man.

After getting rid of those pesky clothes (his vest, shirt, and under vest thingy that looked like chicken wire) Sakura began working on Kakashi's broken ribs. The

young nurse tried not to look too giddy once the clothes started to hit the floor, but that was an extremely hard task. "I don't understand why he covers himself up

so much." thought Sakura as her eyes roamed freely up and down the chiseled man's torso (since she was the nurse and could use the excuse that she had to

examine him the patient thoroughly or she wouldn't be doing her job). "Pecs, and nipples, and a six pack oh my." thought Sakura as she moved her hands toward

Kakashi's ribs. The silver haired man flinched ever so lightly and Sakura new she had found the fractured ribs. The young medical nin slowly let her chakra enter

the man's body. She knew fixing his bones would take a while, but she didn't mind. The view was well worth the effort.

Feeling vulnerable and naked, Kakashi pulled out the book he had stashed in his pants pocket and began to read it. He didn't want his former student to see him

blush. Every once and a while, the ninja would stop reading and peek ever so slightly over the top of his book and stare silently at the young woman before him.

Sakura was definitely not a kid anymore. Her features had matured and she even filled out in all the right pla… Kakashi inwardly slapped himself and quickly began

reading again, but thoughts still swirled in his head. Reading _Icha_ _Icha Paradise_ didn't help the situation either. He had just gotten to the place in the book where

the hero fell out from exhaustion after fighting the biggest battle of his life. The woman he had been pining after for the majority of his adult life was a medical nin

on the mission. She found him, took him back to her place, and nursed him back to health. Of course some ecchi things happened while he was at her place. The

silver ninja could feel the heat from Sakura's chakra going into his side. He began to daydream.

He never thought he would make it out of that fight alive, but the famous Copy Ninja of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi, saves the day once again. Hidan and Kakuzu of

Akatsuki were no match for his skillful use of the raikiri (his own invention by the way). The lightning charged hand of Hatake Kakashi served justice once again

and the world was at peace once more. But all was not right with our hero. The copy ninja. He could feel his body getting weak. All of his chakra must have been

depleted in the fight. He was all alone in the forest on enemy turf and about to black out. He just hoped his comrades would find him before the other members of

Akatsuki did.

"Kakashi! Kakashi!" screamed the pinked haired kunoichi seeing her comrade face down on the ground. She checked his vitals and was relieved to find a faint

pulse. "I must hurry and take him back to my place before the enemy sees us." The petite woman lifted the exhausted copy ninja with her ultra strength and let

him rest on her shoulder as she raced to her place to nurse him back to health.

The famous Kakashi of Konoha opened his heavy eyelids to see the beautiful young woman who have saved him kneeling before hands pressed to the closing

wound on his side. "She's healing me." the thankful ninja thought as the woman worked. He emerald eyes sparkled in the glow of her visible chakra. She jumped

when she saw the devilishly handsome Kakashi staring deep into her lovely eyes.

"Kakashi! Oh Kakashi you wonderful ninja you! You're finally awoke!" the pink haired ninja exclaimed as she finished healing his side. "I was so worried. I thought

I'd never see you alive again." The woman said beginning to cry. The copy ninja sat up and wiped the little woman's tears away. He always hated to see a woman

cry. "Don't cry. I'm fine thanks to you Sakura." said the ever suave and debonair Kakashi as he lifted the woman off of her knees and pulled her into a soft

passionate kiss.

Sakura finished healing as much of her former teacher's ribs as she could. The internal bruising would in time go away on its own along with his concussion. The

pink haired ninja noticed that Kakashi was looking kind of odd. He was looking off into space and had a glazed look in his eye. Sakura thought she even detected a

slight blush on the only visible part of his face. "Uhh Kakashi sensei, are you feeling okay?" Sakura's comment snapped the silver ninja out of his daydream and

back into the real world.

"Hmm? Yes. Yes I'm fine." he felt a bit silly. Sakura had caught him daydreaming. "Are you sure? Maybe I should check to see if your concussion is getting worse."

"No. I'm fine. I just uh…can I put my clothes back on now? It's kind of cold in here." "Oh yes. Of Course." said Sakura handing her former teacher his clothes. The

young nurse couldn't help but inwardly thinking about how weird it was to hear Kakashi's last statement. He'd ask her if he could put his clothes back on. Sakura

thought about what he would have said if she had said no and climbed on top him. She laughed audibly thinking about the surprised look on his face as she

straddled him. "What's so funny Sakura san?" asked the puzzled Kakashi. "Oh nothing. It's nothing. Just something silly that popped into my head just now.

Something I watched on TV last night." lied Sakura.

"Oh ok. So Sakura, will I live?" smiled the ninja as he pulled his shirt over his slanted hair. "Yeah you'll live, but be more careful next time." fussed Sakura. "Wait

here and I'll get you some medicine to take home." She continued as she walked out of the room. Kakashi sat obediently as Sakura left. His eye trailed after her.

He could see her leaning over the desk across the hall from his room. His eye widened as her bottom rounded. Once again Kakashi had to slap himself. "She was

your student man. Snap out of it!" thought the silver ninja.

Sakura stood back up after getting the medicine off of her desk and noticed her former teacher staring at her. She could see his reflection in the glass before her.

This made Sakura's heart race a little. "Is he staring at my butt?" Sakura thought looking at the man's reflection in the glass. It was then that Sakura decided to

test old silver just to see where his mind was.

Sakura walked nonchalantly back into Kakashi's room and she detected a slight uneasy feeling in the air. The young nurse handed her former teacher the bottle of

pills and then stared at his lone eye.

Kakashi looked down at his bottle of pills, but he could feel the intensity of Sakura's gaze. He looked up to meet those emerald eyes staring down into his one eye.

A few seconds went by and no one said a word. Kakashi couldn't take the staring contest anymore. "Uh Sakura why are you…" "I'm trying to figure out something."

The nurse interrupted. "Figure out what?" Kakashi asked intrigued by how close the young nurse had got to his face. "I'm trying to figure out your age." That

response caught the ninja by surprise. "Hmm?" he said with his head cocked to the side. "Your age. Its one of the many mysteries surrounding you." Sakura

replied turning her back to her former teacher. "Mysteries?" thought Kakashi following Sakura with his eye. "What's so mysterious about me?" he thought on.

Seeing the question in his face as she turned to face him again, Sakura answered it. "You know you're mysterious sensei. You're always so quiet. You never take

off your mask. And that makes it completely impossible for me to figure out how old you are." "Why do you need to know that?" asked the masked man. "Just

curious." the pink haired nurse said while reaching over Kakashi to grab the clipboard beside him instead of walking over to get it. Kakashi felt movement below

and placed his hands in his lap to cover his friend before he decided to make an appearance. A few more seconds of silence went by as Sakura pretended to go

over her patient's chart once more before he left.

"So?" Sakura started looking up at her former teacher. "So what?" asked Kakashi feeling a bit nervous about Sakura's next move. "How old are you duh!" Kakashi

laughed in relief while rubbing the back of his head. "Do you really want to know?" the ninja asked while getting up and moving towards the window. "Uh yeah!"

said Sakura spinning around to look at the retreating ninja. "Well let me leave you with a little math problem them. Take twenty, add another twenty, and then

take away six. See you around Sakura san." Kakashi disappeared into the frozen night leaving Sakura to think about the problem laid before her. The answer was

simple enough. "34. He's 34. Why couldn't he have just said that instead of making me do math?" thought Sakura. "Hmm he's only 34. That means he's fourteen

years older than me. I wonder how it would feel to date an older man." wondered Sakura. "I bet there are a lot of things he could teach me." she giggled.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kakashi entered his bedroom window and threw his vest on the chair beside his bed. He was happy to finally be home after a long mission. Three days of slept

deprivation, hardly any food, and enemy attacks all because some stupid guy lost the blueprints to his wealthy boss's new mansion. (Of course the boss was one of

the most notorious criminals in the country and whoever got their hands on those blueprints would know every secret about that man's house and would be able to

infiltrate said mansion and stop his evil plans at anytime.) Now that the blue prints were safely in the care of Hokage Tsunade, Kakashi could rest and let his body

heal.

As the tired ninja undressed, he wondered about what just happened at the hospital. Was it just him, or was Sakura acting a little strange the ninja wondered. He

didn't give the pink ninja's actions too much thought. He was just ready to relax. The silver ninja took a long hot shower before slipping into bed and completely

passing out.

He woke the next day feeling a bit sore but not too bad. After making some breakfast, eggs and toast, Kakashi sat at his little table with the morning paper. There

was nothing too much going on. The biggest story was about the upcoming holiday. "Slow news day." The ninja thought as he flipped past the front page and its

story on Valentines day. "Valentine's day isn't news." Thought Kakashi. "It's just a day for lovers to exchange gifts. What's the big deal?"

The silver ninja finished his breakfast and coffee then decided to lie on his couch and read his favorite book. "_Make out Tactics_ is all the romance I need." The ninja

lied to himself. Kakashi longed for romance just like any other person, and it was not like women didn't seem interested in him. He knew he could go to any bar,

shoot, he could go to the market place and pick up any woman he wanted. Finding someone to be with was not this ninja's problem. The only problem he had was

being too picky, or at least that is what Gai always told him .

"No woman ever lives up to your standards do they Kakashi? They always either too tall or too thin or too perfect!" said Gai while taking in another big gulp of

sake. "The too perfect thing doesn't make sense by the way. How can someone be too perfect? There is no such thing as being too perfect. You're just afraid of

commitment. Admit it." Gai continued. "I'm not afraid of commitment." protested Kakashi looking around the bar at all the couples talking in the booths. "I just

haven't found the right girl is all." He defended. "Rin is gone man. You have to let her go." Kakashi tensed at the name he hadn't heard in years. Gai stared

sympathetically at Kakashi waiting for a response. "I'm over Rin Gai." Was the ninja's answer as he took in some more sake. "I don't believe you. I mean you get

women basically throwing themselves at you all the time and yet you're still single. Why is that man?" "You're single Gai. Why are you single? You're still not over

Kurenai are you?" Gai's eyes widened and Kakashi knew his love life was off the hook. He knew all he had to do was mention Kurenai and Gai would go into definite

defense mode. A lot like his star pupil Rock Lee and his infatuation with Sakura, Gai once had a huge crush on his fellow ninja Yuhi Kurenai. Kurenai, unlike Sakura,

was always sweet and let Gai down gently, but Kakashi knew Gai had never completely gotten over her. He used this fact to his advantage whenever Gai started to

pressure him into dating. Kakashi also vowed to never let Gai set him up on a date again after his disastrous first and only blind date. It all started on a night just

like that night at the bar. Gai dug into Kakashi about his love life and said he knew of the perfect girl for the silver ninja.

"I don't know." Kakashi started. "Oh come on man. When's the last time you've been on a date Kakashi? How many years has it been since you ah you know?"

teased Gai nudging his friend in the ribs. Kakashi's eye widened as his friend laughed at him. "It hasn't been years since I last…" "Got some." smiled Gai. Kakashi

wasn't amused. "I get mine." defended the ninja. "Prostitutes don't count." laughed Gai a little louder than Kakashi wanted him to. The bartender glanced at the

two semi-drunk men making Kakashi blush slightly. "I get mine and that's all that matters." whispered Kakashi before taking another gulp of sake. "Let me set you

up with someone nice." said Gai leaning back slightly. "See I know these two girls from the hidden rain village and let's just say the ground isn't the only thing

that's perpetually wet around there." winked Gai.

It was true that Kakashi hadn't gone a date in a long time. Gai was even right about his sex life; Kakashi would never admit that though. Against his better

judgment and probably because of the two bottles of sake he had just ingested and Gai's last statement, Kakashi agreed to the double date. Why oh why did he do

that?

Date night had arrived and Kakashi could feel his nerves growing the closer the two men got to the meeting place. The hidden rain village was so far away that the

four adults decided to meet somewhere in the middle. The two men stopped short of their destination at Gai's request. "How do I look?" asked Gai striking a pose.

"You look the same as usual." answered his closet friend. "What?" Gai exclaimed. "Well you still got the same hairstyle, outfit and eyebrows. What do you want me

to say?" Gai was not amused. "I changed my outfit." He said with one raised eyebrow. Kakashi looked his friend up and down and could not see any difference

what so ever. "Uhh…" he started. "My leg warmers are yellow! They are usually orange!" "Oh of course." said Kakashi backing away from his angry friend a little. "I

switched from that bland orange to this bright yellow so my date would notice me right away." "I don't think she could miss you if she tried." mumbled Kakashi.

"Yep. With this bright color combination, I'll stay in her mind long after the date is over. Don't you think?" Kakashi could do nothing but nod and try not to laugh at

his old friend.

Kakashi actually had changed his outfit. "No work vest today." He had thought while getting dressed. The ninja still wore his favorite color, navy blue, but he wore

a nice pair of black plants and some nice dark sneakers. Kakashi always like to be in dark clothes. (You can take the ninja out of the fight, but you can't take the

ninja mentality out of the man.)

Gai suggested they wait before going into the bar. They had arrived early and Gai wanted Kakashi to see who he had pick out for him. Ten minutes passed and

their dates hadn't showed up. Gai was pacing up and down the branch of the tree they were hiding on, and Kakashi was trying not to fall off the shaking branch.

Gai stopped pacing and Kakashi was suddenly startled by the excited man.

"There they are!" exclaimed Gai grabbing Kakashi by the shoulders. The silver ninja followed Gai's gaze and saw, to his surprise, two very attractive women

standing outside the bar. One was very petite with long red hair and a rack that would put Tsunade's to shame. Gai quickly claimed her. "Tigo bitties is mine. I

called it." said Gai staring at Kakashi. Kakashi didn't mind. He was never really a breast man anyway. The second woman had a pleasant face, short cinnamon hair,

and large green eyes. She reminded the ninja of someone, but he couldn't quite put his hands on who though.

The two men decided it was time to go and meet their dates. Kakashi felt his pulse rise a bit as they leapt out of the tree and made their way to the waiting

women. This was the first date the silver ninja had in a few years. He was nervous to say the least, but he had to play it cool or Gai would rag on him for the rest

of his life.

The women's eyes widened as they saw the two tall men making their way towards them. "I get tall dark and handsome." said the buxom beauty to her quiet

friend. "No way are you sticking me Bruce Lee wanna be! I want the one with the gray hair!" the other woman whispered angrily to her friend. "Nope. I set up the

date so I get to pick the man I want." said the first woman. "You should be happy to get Bruce Lee. No man in our town will have anything to do with you because

of your problem." she continued. The other woman blushed with anger just as Gai and Kakashi stood before them. Gai thought she was blushing because of the

two sexy men standing in front of her.

"Good evening ladies." started Gai in his radio dj voice. (He always did this when he wanted to impress women.) Kakashi wanted to laugh but he held it in. "It's

nice to see you again." Gai continued looking at the busty woman. "Hi Gai who's your friend." said the buxom woman staring intensely at Kakashi. "This is my

dearest and oldest friend Kakashi. I thought I'd get him out of the house for once." Kakashi's visible eye widened momentarily. He shot Gai an annoyed look. "Oh

so you don't go out much?" asked the petite woman. Kakashi blushed slightly and started to speak. "Well I…" "No. He stays at home all the time. That's why I

thought you could you could help me show him a good time tonight." Gai interrupted. The silver ninja shot guy another annoyed look and this time Gai got the

message. He quickly changed the subject. "Uh so who's your friend here?" "This is Hitomi, and I'm Akane since Gai didn't introduce me." "My deepest apologies

Akane. I was just so captivated by you beauty that I forgot to introduce you." smiled Gai. Akane faked a smile back and turned her attention once more to Kakashi.

"So. Why don't we all go inside and have a drink." suggested the little woman. Gai held the door open and bowed as the two women walked into the bar. Kakashi

followed and Gai patted him on the shoulder. "This is gonna be fun." He grinned.

"Come sit next to me." said Akane to Kakashi. Gai hurriedly sat next to the buxom women thinking she was talking to him. Hitomi sat in front of Akane and

Kakashi next to her. It was evident to everyone at the table except Gai that Akane was not pleased with the seating arrangement.

Gai ordered some drinks and they started knocking out the shots. Kakashi wanted to drink to stop his nerves. He didn't quite know what to say to Hitomi. She

seemed nervous as well. After a few rounds of the sake the four adults became a bit looser. Gai was telling all sorts of embarrassing stories about him and Kakashi

as rebellious teens. He even told the one about how he got Kakashi so drunk when they were 15 that he almost barfed up a lung. "Yeah I won that contest."

laughed Gai. Akane did the same. She told stories about her and Hitomi's little contests they have and how she always wins them. "Yeah me and Hitomi here had

an eating contest a few years back, and she was so stuffed by the end I thought she would burp up a cow! I may be small, but I can pack away some food."

bragged Akane. Kakashi wondered if she packed the food in her ginormous boobs. Hitomi blushed in embarrassment.

The whole time the four adults were talking and laughing, Kakashi noticed that Akane would stare at him off and on. She'd smile and wink at him whenever Gai

turned his head. This made the ninja uncomfortable. All of a sudden Kakashi could feel a tiny foot on his leg. His eye widened as he looked over and saw the evil

smile on Akane's face. Before he knew it, the silver ninja could feel a small hand caressing his inner thigh. He looked down to see Hitomi's right hand squeezing

him mid-thigh. His visible eye slowly turned towards Hitomi who was looking at Gai and ignoring him completely.

There were a lot of sensations going through the silver ninja. He had not been on a date in a few years, and to have two women groping and tickling his leg at once

was intriguing, but on the other hand, poor clueless Gai.

Hitomi's hand moved ever so slowly up Kakashi's leg towards a place that was rapidly tensing. Kakashi couldn't help but look down at the small hand that was

gripping his zipper. He felt a strange sensation in his left leg and then in his right. The sensation was moving up his body, and then he realized what Hitomi was

doing to him. Kakashi tried to move but couldn't. He was slowly being paralyzed. He was able to lift his right arm and lift his headband enough to reveal his other

eye. Which he kept closed at the moment.

Kakashi was helpless to defend himself from the hand that was slowly making its way into his pants. Akane must have figured out what was going on by the look

on the silver ninja's face. Before Kakashi knew what was going on, he was caught in the fight. Akane flew across the table and grabbed Hitomi by the hair. "How

dare you try to rape my man!" "I'm right here baby she didn't touch me!" exclaimed Gai as he stood up alarmed. "Oh not you! Him!" Akane explained while

choking Hitomi. Gai looked confused and Hitomi flipped Akane on her back. "I wasn't doing anything wrong! He's my date!" screamed Hitomi (that was first thing

she had said all night) "He is not!" shouted Akane kicking Hitomi in the ribs. "I called dibs and you know it!" she continued.

Kakashi still paralyzed could do nothing but sit and hope he didn't get kicked in the face. Gai watched the fight from a few feet away and then noticed that Kakashi

still sat wide eyed in the booth. "Hey Kakashi you're getting a front row view aren't ya." laughed Gai. "But I think you better move before they hurt you." he

continued still laughing. All the silver ninja could do was look at his friend with pleading eye (sharigan still closed). Kakashi knew his friend was a bit dim, but he

should have been able to realize something was wrong when Kakashi didn't get out of the way of the fighting women.

Kakashi knew he had no choice but to use his secret weapon. He quickly opened his sharigan just as Akane glanced in his direction. She dropped to the floor

instantly. Surprised by the sudden drop of her friend, Hitomi looked around to see what happened and got caught by the same as her friend. She fell on top of

Akane and Kakashi was released from her spell. He could finally get up punch Gai in the arm.

"Why didn't you help me?" Kakashi exclaimed. "Help you with what? You seemed fine to me. Two girls fighting over you an all." Kakashi never wanted to choke a

person more than he did at that moment. "I was paralyzed. I couldn't move! That girl Hitomi used some kind of jutsu on me!" "Oh" laughed Gai. "So it's true." he

continued. "What's true?" asked Kakashi as Gai paid the bartender and they headed towards the door. "That girl is known as the date rape drug in Amegakure. One

touch from her and you're paralyzed and she can do whatever she wants to you. Ha ha that's funny. I didn't think it was true." Kakashi threw Gai out of the bar

and watched him fly overhead like a rocket. "Gai is the only one that kindle my anger." thought the silver ninja as he headed for Konoha.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kakashi could feel himself falling asleep. Reminiscing about that awful date made him tired. "No one should have to use their sharigan on a date." thought the ninja

as he faded into sleep.

Sakura woke up at that morning. She was happy to have some time off. She just wished it wasn't so close to Valentine's Day. Sakura never had a date for

Valentine's Day ever so she hated it. She always seemed to loose track of her man by the time the holiday rolled around. She was the closet she'd ever been to

getting a date for Valentine's Day last year. Her boyfriend of three months, who will remain nameless, broke her heart the day before the holiday saying he finally

got the girl of his dreams to notice him. Sakura decided that she wouldn't worry about finding love this year. She would just relax, stuff her face, and cry while

watching all the romantic movies on TV.

The pink haired woman got up and decided not to make her bed today since she would be at home all day anyway. She took a good long shower and put on some

clean pajamas. He stomach growled loudly as she entered her kitchen. "There's no food here." said Sakura aloud after looking through her bare cabinets and

fridge. Come to think of it, Sakura couldn't remember the last time she went shopping. She would usually eat at the hospital since she was there almost all day

every day. "Uhh! Now I have to go shopping!" the young woman thought as she dragged her feet on her way back to her bedroom.

Sakura noticed that she also needed to go clothes shopping too. She mostly had nursing uniforms and her mission wear. There weren't any everyday outfits in her

closet. "Oh well." she thought and pulled out one of the many red blouses and pink skirts. She slipped some little black shorts under her skirt and got her coat, hat

and gloves. She put some money in her bra since she never carried a purse.

Sakura was so proud of her bra. Well she was more proud of the size of it. Sakura was flat chested for the longest, but as her 20th birthday rolled around up

popped some boobs. "It took you long enough to grow a pair." Ino had teased when she saw Sakura's new endowments one day at the hot springs. "Talk about

your late bloomer." she continued. Sakura didn't care. She was just happy to fill the largest b cup in the store. Of course she couldn't compete with Ino's d cups or

Hinata's full c cups, but her b cups was better that the training bra she had come so accustomed to wearing.

After dressing, Sakura brushed her pink locks and headed to the market. The market place wasn't too busy. Sakura looked around and gathered some fruits and

vegetables. She pulled a Naruto and bought a ton of cup ramen. (Sakura was never a good cook and she didn't try to pretend she was.) She bought some

chocolate candies and a few more snacks and was about to head home when she literally bumped into Hinata. Both women were caught off guard. Hinata was

bending to pick up an apple, and Sakura was counting her change to see if she could buy more chocolate.

"Oh Sakura. Excuse me." apologized Hinata. "No I'm sorry." apologized Sakura. "Long time no see Hinata. How are you? What's new?" Sakura continued. "I'm fine,

and I guess the only thing new with me is mine and Naruto's relationship." "Relationship?" Sakura's ears perked up. "What relationship?" Sakura and Hinata have

never been close, but every body likes to hear something juicy every now and then. "Well" Hinata started "We had a mission together a couple of months back,

and one thing led to another." she blushed deeply "The next thing I knew, Naruto and I were making out on the forest floor." Sakura's jaw could have hit the floor.

"Well congratulations I guess." said Sakura "You finally got him." Hinata smiled as the two said their goodbyes.

Sakura was a bit sad to hear Naruto had moved on. She liked having an adoring fan, but she was happy for Hinata. Sakura knew how it felt to pine after someone

who doesn't seem to know you're alive. She spent way too many years going through that with Sasuke. "Wake up Billboard Brow. You're blocking the road!" said

the all too familiar voice. "Hey Ino." sighed Sakura to her frienemy. "I see you just heard about Naruto and Hinata. How does it feel to be the only single person in

Konoha?" "What are you talking about Ino?" asked Sakura irritated. "Well all the old gang sent their RSVP notes to me about my Valentine's day ball but you. And

Kakashi sensei, but I didn't exactly expect him to come anyway. Sending him an invite just seemed like the polite thing to do. But getting back to what I was

saying, you are the only one who is dateless for V day." "Whatever Ino. I know you're lying so I'll see you later." "I'm not lying Sakura. Everyone is coming. Let's

see there is: Naruto and Hinata, as you already know, Shikamaru and Temari, Neji and Tenten, Iruka and Anko, Gai even got a date with Kurenai, most likely a

pity date but hey he still got it, all the loners, Shino, Sai, and Gaara, are going together (how ironic is that), Choji has his food, and Kiba always has his Akamaru."

"All those pairings aren't romantic Ino." argued Sakura. "So. They're still coming." "Well what about you Ino? Who are you going with?" Sakura thought she had

Ino for sure. She knew good and well that Ino wasn't dating anyone. "For your information, I'm going with Lee." Sakura opened her eyes so wide they almost fell

out of her head. "You're going with who?" she laughed in disbelief. "You heard me. I'm going with Lee." "Bushy Brows?" "Hey don't knock a guy who strives to do

his best at everything and I mean _everything_." smiled Ino devilishly. "Wow." Sakura thought. "I would have never put them together." "As I was saying, you are

dateless and you need to dig one up before the party or you'll feel as foolish as you look." Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Whatever Ino." she said in

parting feeling defeated.

Sakura made her way home and warmed up a cup of ramen. She sat on her couch and began to think. If what Ino said was true, Sakura would really be the only

one of the old gang that didn't have a date at the party. Sakura was just about to get depressed when she remember something else Ino Pig said earlier: "Well all

the old gang sent their RSVP notes to me about my Valentine's day ball but you. And Kakashi sensei, but I didn't exactly expect him to come anyway. Sending him

an invite just seemed like the polite thing to do."

"Kakashi sensei isn't going either. Hmm I wonder." the pink haired woman began to formulate a plan. "Maybe I can get Kakashi sensei to go with me. Showing up

with the hottest guy in Konoha would definitely shut Ino Pig up for good." said Sakura aloud. An evil smile crept over Sakura's face as she sat and thought about

Ino keeling over after seeing her arrive with the copy ninja. Sakura also imagined what her former teacher would look like in a tuxe. Then she thought about how

he would look in nothing but a bow tie. She almost passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Mmm that was a good nap." thought the silver ninja as he stretched and yawned. He got up and relieved himself in the bathroom before going into the kitchen for

a snack. "Hmm now what do I feel like eating today?" he asked himself looking in his fridge. He saw vegetables and shrimp. That was pretty much it. "I need to go

shopping." he thought. Kakashi looked in his cabinets and found some flour and rice. "I guess I'll make some tempura and rice." he said clapping his hands

together and getting the ingredients together.

As soon as he was sitting down to eat, there was a knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be." Kakashi thought as he got up to answer the door. He looked

through the peep hole and almost fell backwards when he saw who it was. "Sakura san?" he thought heart beating a little faster. "What is she doing here?" he

wondered as he reached for the door handle. He opened the door slowly, trying not to seem eager to see her or anything. "Hello Sakura san. What brings you

here… to see me today?" the silver ninja asked staring at the surprised looking young woman on his doorstep. When she didn't answer he realized maybe he was

being rude for not inviting her inside. "Oh. Come in Sakura." Kakashi turned around expecting the pink haired woman to come in and close the door. He didn't hear

the door close and was about to turn around to see what was the matter when he caught a glimpse of himself in his living room window. Hair messy, no shirt, and

NO MASK!

Kakashi quickly covered his face, but it was too late. Sakura had seen him naked! (Well, she'd seen his face naked.) Kakashi turned to see Sakura, mouth agape,

eyes widened, and index finger pointing at him. The silver ninja didn't know what to say. He could feel his face grow hot, but before he could make a move to find

a mask, a napkin, or anything to cover his face, Sakura hit the floor with a thud.

Sakura opened her eyes and saw a tan ceiling. She looked around and saw a little silver table with two chairs. On the table was some food. Sakura instantly knew

that she was not at home. Her table never has food on it! "Where am I?" she thought aloud. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her former teacher inching

into the room.

"Sakura san, are you okay?" he said kneeling beside her now. Sakura's eyes focused on the cautious man before her as she nodded. "You took a pretty bad fall.

Are you sure you're alright?" the silver ninja asked once more. Sakura nodded and sat up slowly. She felt so embarrassed "What happened?" she thought. "How

did I end up on Kakashi sensei's couch?"

Kakashi stood up and stared at the young woman on his couch. He had often fantasized about showing Sakura his face and then planting numerous kisses on her

soft lips, but he never thought she would pass out from the sight of his face. Was he really that ugly he wondered. Sakura stood up and Kakashi helped her steady

herself. He really wanted to know what she was thinking. Did she remember what just happened? Did she remember seeing his face?

Sakura looked up at her masked former teacher with embarrassment in her eyes. "I'm sorry Kakashi sensei. I don't know what came over me to just faint like

that." she explained. "Crap! She remembered she fainted." thought Kakashi. He hoped she didn't think to hard about why she fainted though. "That's okay Sakura.

I'm glad you fainted here and not in the forest somewhere." he said just making conversation. It would have been weird for him to say nothing back. "Yeah."

Sakura agreed still feeling stupid.

An awkward silence commenced and went on for what seems like forever until it was broken by the loud and humiliating growl of Sakura's stomach. Now it was

Sakura's turn to turn red. Both the pink and the silver ninja stared at Sakura's stomach for a moment. Kakashi broke the silence. "Uhh… Sakura would you like

something to eat?" "I've been so busy today. I must have not eaten enough." rambled Sakura as she felt the heat of embarrassment on her cheeks. "Sit down

Sakura. I made lunch. You can have some. I don't want you passing out again." Kakashi smiled and hoped Sakura would believe she passed out because of the

lack of food. Completely humiliated now, the pink haired woman sat down and let the silver ninja pass her a bowl of rice and tempura.

"I'm sorry it's not that much." Kakashi started. "I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet." he continued. "No this is good." Sakura said eating a mouth full. "This

is _really_ good." she said. "I didn't know you could cook Kakashi sensei." she said shoveling the food in her mouth now. The silver ninja smiled with his visible eye.

"Thanks. When you live alone for as long as I have, you have to learn how to cook or you'll starve." he smiled. "I guess so." Sakura agreed. "But if I tried to cook

this, I'd burn my whole apartment building down." The two laughed and Sakura noticed Kakashi hadn't touched his food. Sakura instantly felt awful. "Oh my

goodness. "she thought. "I barged in here unannounced, fainted, and now I'm eating his food that he said he didn't have much of. I am so rude." Then Sakura

thought, "Well he wouldn't have invited me to eat if he didn't have enough." She felt better after that thought. "Eat sensei before it gets cold. This food is too good

to waste." Her former teacher smiled once more. "No I'll just eat it a little later." "Oh come on sensei. You know you're hungry. Otherwise you wouldn't have made

all this food." she continued. "You just don't want to eat in front of me because there is no way you can eat this though your mask like you do with soup or a

drink."

"Oh crap" Kakashi's smile disappeared as he saw the realization on Sakura's face. "Your mask…" she said again. "Oh crap." he thought again. "Your mask!"she

screamed. "I saw you without your mask! That's why I fainted!" Kakashi laid his head on the table. "I was hoping you didn't remember that. "So it's true? I really

did see you maskless? This is so cool! Oo wait until I tell Ino pig this. She's gonna freak!" Kakashi's head shot up off of the table. "Tell. No. You can't tell anyone

what you saw." "Why not? Everyone will be so jealous that I actually got to see your face and they didn't." "I cover my face for a reason Sakura." "I don't know

why." "I have my reasons." "That's crazy. I can see if you were ugly or something, but you're so Hot!" Sakura quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

"What was that?" "Nothing." said Sakura through her clasped hands. "If I'm not mistaking, it sounded like you said I was h.." "No I said nothing. Now I have to

leave." Sakura nearly leapt out of her seat and rushed to the front door, but the silver ninja was just a little too quick for her. He stood in front of the door blocking

Sakura's only exit (unless she wanted to pull a Kakashi and jump out the nearest window). Sakura could feel the heat rising to her face.

"You think I'm hot Sakura san?" asked the young woman's former teacher. Sakura didn't know what to say. Of course she thought he was hot! She had for the last

four years.

With her exit blocked she felt she had no choice but to answer the question laid before her. All the pink ninja could do was nod while averting her eyes from the

gaze her former teacher's visible eye. Sakura could feel the laser like eye boring into her soul. A gentle hand slowly turned her face towards the man in front of

her.

Sakura seriously thought her eyes would pop out. Kakashi took his headband off and stood completely bare faced waiting for Sakura's reaction. There he stood.

Hatake Kakashi. The most secretive ninja known to man. No headband. No mask. No coverings. Nothing hidden (well except for the rest of his body ).

The young woman tried not to drool at the sight of the Adonis before her. His soft caring eyes stared down at her. His silver hair fell to frame his chiseled face. His

rugged jaws dressed in silver stubble and that mouth. His lips seemed to be calling to Sakura to taste them and to taste them immediately. Kakashi could do

nothing but smile at the reaction he was receiving revealing his dimples. He could see the lust in Sakura's eyes. She wanted him. She wanted him bad. Before

Sakura could open her mouth to say a word, the silver ninja planted a slow soft kiss on her forehead.

Sakura was frozen as his lips made their way to her left cheek and then to her right. "Is he kissing me?" thought Sakura completely flabbergasted. Kakashi pulled

away to see Sakura's face. Sakura nearly died when she saw him biting his lower lip as he looked intently at her lips. Sakura knew what was about to happen and

she was glad she went to the bathroom before she got there or the floor would have been wet.

Kakashi moved in slowly towards those pink lips he so desperately wanted to kiss, but instead of kissing her he stared her deep in the eyes. Sakura felt powerless

while in his gaze. She felt her legs start to turn into jelly along with the rest of her body. Then an overwhelming need to sleep rushed over her. Before she knew it,

everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sakura woke up in her room wondering how she got there. Did she really go to Kakashi's house? Did she really eat with him? Had she really seen his face? Did he

actually kiss her? All these questions swirled in Sakura's mind as sat up in her bed. It was dark outside. How long had she slept? "I don't even remember getting

back into bed." she said to herself. Sakura got up and she nearly fell back on her bed. "Why do I feel so weak?" she thought. And then she remembered she hadn't

eaten anything but a cup of ramen all day. The pink haired ninja went to her kitchen and got an apple. She saw Ino's party invitation on her counter and

remembered what she was supposed to have done that day. "I wanted to ask Kakashi sensei to the dance." she said aloud looking out her kitchen window. "It's

getting kinda late now. I don't want to barge over there unannounced." Sakura finished eating her apple but still felt unsatisfied. She had a strong desire for shrimp

tempura and rice. Sakura thought that was odd. She hadn't had tempura in months. Why the sudden urge? "I guess if I'm gonna get some, I better get dressed

and go before it's too late." the pink ninja thought looking down at her pajamas and going to her closet to pick out an outfit. Sakura frowned at her selection.

Nursing outfits and mission wear is all she had. "Oh well." she thought pulling out a red blouse, black shorts, and a pink shirt. For some reason, this felt like déjà

vu to the young woman. She ignored the feeling and got dressed, brushed her hair and teeth (since she just woke up) and headed out to the nearest restaurant.

Kakashi sat at the bar and drank his sake. "I can't believe that happened." he thought. "Yep she said yes. Kurenai and I are going to Ino's ball together" smiled

Gai. "I can't believe it." said the silver ninja out loud this time. "Yeah I know right. I can't believe she finally said… Hey what do you mean you can't believe it?"

Kakashi laughed at his friend as he took another drink of sake.

"Gai Sensei!" shouted the approaching Rock Lee smiling ear to ear. "Lee! My favorite pupil. How are you?" greeted Gai. "I'm great sensei." "Oh I see you did not

venture out alone tonight Lee san. Hello Ino san." "Hi Gai san." said Ino looking from him to the quiet ninja sipping from his cup at the bar. "Hello Kakashi san."

started Ino. "Yo." replied Kakashi. Ino made her way past the look a likes and stood next to the man at the bar. "So?" she started. "Hmm?" "Kakashi san, you are

coming to my ball aren't you? I haven't received your RSVP yet." "Umm… I don't know Ino.." "Of course he's coming." said Gai as he slapped his buddy on the

back. "Well I never said…" "Oh great Kakashi san. I was hoping you'd be there. The whole gang is coming and it wouldn't be the same without you." smiled Ino.

"Oh uh.." "Yep the party wouldn't be complete without Kakashi sensei." chimed in Lee. Kakashi smiled with his visible eye surprised that his presence at the party

was so important. "Okay since that's all settle I'm going to the powder room." announced Ino before blowing Lee a kiss and walking off.

The men waited for Ino to leave before they spoke again. "So Lee I see you and Ino are dating. I thought you like Sakura." started Kakashi. "Yes sensei I did like

Sakura once, but a man can only get rejected so many time before he has to move on." The silver ninja laughed and looked at his friend Gai. "That true don't you

think Gai?" The spandex clad ninja caught the hint and shot his friend a mean look. "Ino and I been together for two weeks now." beamed Lee. "That's great Lee,

but let me talk to you seriously for a moment." "Yes sensei." said Lee getting closer to his mentor. "I am pretty you have noticed Ino blooming lotuses." Lee

smiled. "Yes sensei I have." "Have they stayed hidden like the leaf village or have they been explored?" "Sensei!" laughed Lee. "No I'm serious Lee. Ino has grown

into a very attractive woman, and I know it would be hard to fight the feeling when the time comes. I just want to tell you that there is nothing wrong with letting

the power of youth explode. Just make sure you put a condom on it first." Lee giggled red cheeked along with his red cheeked mentor until Ino returned from the

restroom.

"What's so funny?" ask Ino upon arrival. "Uh nothing Ino." lied Gai. "We were just having a little man to man talk." he continued. "Oh. Let's find a booth to sit in

Lee and let Gai san and Kakashi san get back to their conversation." said Ino going over to the mini Gai and lacing her fingers with his. "Sure thing Ino." smiled

Lee. "Bye sensei. Bye Kakashi sensei." Ino waved goodbye to the two men as she and Lee crossed the bar.

"Wow. Lee and Ino. I would have never put those two together." laughed Gai sitting back down next to his quiet friend. "Me either." sighed Kakashi. "You know he

gets his lady know how from me. I taught him everything he knows." Kakashi feared for Lee's love life.

"Tempura Palace" read the sign. "Hmm. I can taste it now." thought Sakura as she entered the restaurant. Sakura thought she would just pop in and get some

food and then go back to her warm house to enjoy it, but of course she was wrong. Just after she order her food she heard, "Hey Sakura! Sakura over here!" from

an all too familiar voice. The pink haired ninja turned to see none other than the future hokage himself and his date sitting and looking oh so cozy at a near by

table. "Hey Naruto. Hey Hinata." said Sakura through a fake smile. "Long time no see Sakura" started Naruto. "Hello again Sakura." said Hinata. "Again?" queried

Naruto. "Yes Sakura and I met earlier in the market." "Yes and that is when I first heard of you two becoming an item." answered the uncomfortable pink ninja.

Sakura looked around and saw the restaurant was full of nothing but lovey dovey looking couples. "What is this Noah's ark?" thought Sakura as she waited

anxiously for her order to arrive. "Oh yeah. I guess you hadn't heard the good news yet. I've been getting so many missions lately, and when I do get home Hinata

hear won't let me get a moments sleep. Ain't that right Hina." laughed Naruto kissing Hinata on the neck. Hinata turned bright red. "Naruto!" she squeaked. "What,

we're all adults here." defended Naruto. "Sakura understands what people in love do." he continued. "People in love." blushed Hinata searching Naruto's caring

eyes. "Yeah, that's kinda what I wanted to tell you this evening Hinata." started Naruto placing his hand Hinata's chin and moving her face slowly towards his. "I'm

in live with you Hinata." said the now serious Naruto. "Oh Naruto." sighed the teary eyed ninja. "Oh barf!" thought Sakura who suddenly felt the urge to dry heave.

The pink haired ninja was all too happy to see her order was finally ready and she could leave the restaurant before the two love birds started ripping each other's

clothes off. Sakura noticed the wind had picked up since she left her apartment. It was starting to get really cold outside. "Man I really need to go clothes

shopping." thought the underdressed ninja as she wrapped her coat tighter around her.

Walking home, Sakura began to notice all the couples out that night. Old married couples, young love, and even puppy love (she seriously saw two dogs licking

each other by a fire hydrant) were everywhere. She felt like she had been left out a secret club for lovers or something. "What is going on?" thought the pink ninja

as she made her way down the unusually couple crowded streets. Sakura looked up to see, "Yamanaka Ino Presents "The Lover's Ball" February 14!" on the

billboard before her. She gritted her teeth as she passed store after store with Valentine's Day paraphernalia displayed in their shop windows. Sakura nearly fell

over the playing dogs, the ones from before that were making out by the fire hydrant, but caught herself in time before she hit the ground. "This is crazy." sighed

the pink ninja collecting herself and turning the corner just in time to collide with a certain silver haired ninja.

Sakura, who was already getting a bit nervy after seeing all the displays of love and Valentine crap that night, was just about to give that clumsy person who had

the nerve to knock her down a piece of her mind until she looked up and saw who it was. "Oh Kakashi sensei." said the startled Sakura. The glassy eyed man said

nothing in reply. He simply looked down at the little woman before him, smiled, and nodded. "It's funny running into you… here tonight… literally." stammered

Sakura. "Oh what a corny thing to say." thought the young ninja. The man before her still spoke no words. Sakura noticed that her former teacher was acting kind

of odd. She always knew him to be some what of a quiet person, but he would at least say "Yo" whenever he saw her. "Why isn't he saying anything?" wondered

the pink haired ninja after a few moments of awkward silence. "Well, I guess I'll see you around." said Sakura moving to the left of her former teacher and walking

slowly away. "That was odd." she thought. Just then Sakura remembered that she wanted to ask her old sensei a question. She turned around to see him walking,

more like slowly falling to the side, and rushed over to catch him before he hit the ground.

Sakura had to laugh inside her herself when she realized what was wrong with the man in her arms. "Kakashi sensei you are so drunk." she laughed aloud as she

hoisted six foot tall man onto her five feet four inch frame and toted him all the way to his place. The silver haired man made no noise or movements the whole

way to his apartment. Once they arrived the medical nin checked the man's vitals to make sure he was still alive. Once she was sure he hadn't died on her, Sakura

happily checked his person to find his house key. No keys. She checked under his doormat. No keys. She checked for an unlocked window. No luck. "Man Kakashi

sensei, how do you get into your apartment?" thought the confused ninja as she picked up the semi-conscious man and put him back on her shoulder. I guess I'll

have to take you to my place." she said aloud.

Seeing that small woman carrying a man of Kakashi's size had to be an odd site for the people walking through Konoha's streets that night, but Sakura paid their

stares no attention. "Finally." thought the tired ninja as she reached her third floor apartment door. "If my food is cold, I'm gonna be so annoyed." thought Sakura

as she flung open the door and put her food on the counter. The young ninja carefully put her former teacher on her small couch and laughed at the sight. "Oh

Kakashi sensei. Drunk and passed out on my couch. Who would have ever thought?" Sakura closed her apartment door and went to find a cove to place over the

man on her couch. As Sakura turned to get the cover she heard a big thump. Turning back around, she saw the silver ninja on the floor and looking up at her.

"Don't leave." were the first words he said to her all night. Sakura couldn't help but smile at the glassy eyed man on her floor. "I'm not leaving Kakashi sensei."

assured the tickled woman. "I'm just going to get you a cover okay." she said helping him back on to the couch. "Okay I'll go with you." he replied trying to sit up.

"No. You stay here and I'll be right back okay." said Sakura gently pushing the man back onto the couch. "But I don't want to stay here." complained the silver

ninja. "But I want you to stay here." "But…" "Be a good boy now and stay here." said Sakura giving her former teacher a stern look. The man reclined folding his

arms in protest. "Good. I'll be right back."

Sakura laughed within herself and went to get a cover from her bedroom closet. When she got back, she saw Kakashi had stripped a few layers (his vest and his

shirt but he was still wearing that chicken wire shirt thing) but he was still on the couch. The intrigued woman placed the cover on top of her former teacher and

she could see a smile spreading under his mask as he said, "Kakashi's a good boy." There were all types of sensations triggered by that statement and by the sight

of the half dressed man in front of her. (And somewhere Tobi is feeling a disturbance in the force. Tobi is a good boy too.) "Yes you are a good boy." said Sakura

and was about to pull the covers over Kakashi's well defined arms when he grabbed her and held her close to his chest. "You smell good." he said sniffing the

surprised young woman in his arms. "Uhh… thank you Kakashi sensei." said Sakura awkwardly. "I love your hair." he continued. "It's so…pink!" Sakura tried her

hardest not to laugh at the drunk man, but it was hard. "Your eyes are pretty too. Did you know green is my favorite color?" the man asked. Sakura could only

shake her head in reply. "It wasn't always. It's your fault it's my favorite color. Your eyes fault." Sakura had to stop and think about that for a moment. "He likes

green because of my eyes?" "You're so pretty Sakura." sighed the silver ninja. Sakura looked up at her former teacher in astonished by what he just said. "You

think I'm pretty Kakashi sensei?" she asked the drowsy looking man before her. He nodded slowly as his eyes began to close. "Very pretty. Beautiful Sakura." he

yawned before his head dropped and he was down for the count.

The pink haired ninja sat frozen in her former teacher's arm for a few moments. Sakura always heard that alcohol makes women seem prettier. So she wondered if

what she just heard was how Kakashi truly felt or was it the alcohol talking. After a few more moments of contemplation, Sakura released herself from the sleeping

man's grasp and went over to the food on her counter. "Funny," she thought, "I'm not hungry anymore." and put the food she had been craving for so badly for in

her refrigerator. After a long look at the silver ninja drooling on her couch, Sakura went to her room, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Oh Kakashi! Oh Kakashi! OH KAKASHI SENSEI!" screamed the near orgasmic woman as she writhed underneath her sweaty former teacher. "Kakashi's a good

boy." was his reply. "Oh yes. Yes! Kakashi's a real good boy!" exclaimed the sweat soaked woman beneath him. Sakura could feel his warm hands gliding up and

down her hips as he thrusted his length deeper and deeper within her. She could feel it coming. Higher and higher she felt. It was almost time. She could feel an

involuntary scream about to force its way out of her mouth when he stopped. The pink ninja opened her eyes to see the man that was once in her was no more. He

completely vanished and so had her candled light apartment. All she saw now was darkness.

Sakura's eyes snapped open to see nothing but darkness around her. After her eyes adjusted to being awoke, she could tell that she was in her bedroom. "There's

my lap and my open closet full of mission wear and nurse uniforms." she thought trying to collect herself. "It must have been all a dream." the pink haired woman

thought disappointedly. "But it felt so real." she thought as she shifted under her covers. Sakura noticed that there seemed to be a lot less room in her bed than

usual. She rolled over to see none other than the silver ninja lying beside her his arms wrapped around her waist. Sakura gasped at the sight of her former

teacher, now shirtless and pant less, in her bed. Her eyes widened as she thought back to her dream. Had they? Did they? These thoughts swirled in Sakura's mind

as she stared at the silver ninja's boxer briefs. She recovered her former teacher just in time for him to open his eyes. The situation must not have registered with

the sleepy silver ninja at first because he simply looked at his former student, smiled, and then rolled over. It took a few seconds for him to snap into reality.

"Sakura san?" was his first words as he half turned towards the quiet ninja behind him. "Kakashi sensei." was her reply. "Are we in bed together?" was his next

question. All Sakura could do was nod, but that was all the copy ninja needed to hear. He jumped out of the bed and looked at the pajama clad woman before him.

"Uh… Sakura, why are you in my bed?" asked the confused ninja. "I'm not." was her answer. "You're at my house Kakashi sensei." she continued. His visible eye

widened, "I'm… at… your… house?" "Yes. You were drunk and about to pas out in the street and I tried to take you home, but I couldn't find your house key then I

looked under your mat to see if you had a spare but you didn't so then I checked all of your windows to see if any were open but they weren't so I brought you

here and laid you on the couch and went to bed. I'm not exactly sure how you got in my bed though." Sakura explained to the reddening ninja before her. "I was

drunk, passed out and you brought me here?" he mumbled to himself more than to the woman before him. "I have to go." was the next thing out of his mouth as

he rushed towards the front door. "Wait sensei!" called Sakura leaping out of bed. Kakashi already had the door open and was about to leave. "Wait sensei!"

Sakura said again. "Thanks Sakura for all your help, but I really should be going now. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." he was turning to leave when Sakura

grabbed his hand. The silver ninja turned to see his former student holding up what looked like to him a pile of men's clothes. Just then he felt the chill of the

winter air and looked down to see that he was in nothing but his boxers. Mortification could easily be seen on his face as he quickly took the clothes form his

former student put them on as speedily as possible. Sakura closed her apartment door so no one could surprise them during this scene. Neither Sakura nor her red

faced (well the part she could see) former teacher knew what to say. She just opened the door and he was out of sight in seconds. Sakura stayed up for the rest of

the night wondering. Did we or didn't we?

Mortified, humiliated, unable to show his in Konoha face again are all words that described one silver ninja as he entered his apartment (by the way he keeps his

key underneath the loose brick underneath his welcome mat). Kakashi always fantasized about being taken care of by Sakura and eventually doing some ecchi

things, but he never thought she have to take his drunk butt home to keep him from passing out in the street. The defeated ninja wondered how he could ever

look Sakura in the eye again. He knew all her respect for him was lost forever, and he couldn't believe he was actually practically naked in her bed. Did they do

something but he was just too drunk to remember it the tired ninja wondered as he undressed for the second time that night. How did he end in her bed in his

boxers anyway? Did she put him there like that thought Kakashi for a moment. "No. She said she put me on the couch." he answered himself out loud. "Stupid.

Stupid. Stupid." repeated Kakashi as he hit his head against his bathroom door. "I will never get that drunk again." he said thinking about Gai challenging him to a

drinking contest. "The first one to finish of his bottle of sake wins ANOTHER BOTTLE OF SAKE!" laughed Gai. Kakashi wanted to strangle Gai for making up that

stupid contest and himself for going along with the contest. The silver ninja stood and stared at himself in the mirror. He removed his mask and headband and took

a good hard look at his depressed face. "Sakura probably thinks I'm a joke." he said to his reflection before splashing water on his face and getting into bed.

Kakashi knew there was going to be no sleeping that night. He was just glad he had a few days off to hide and think about a way to avoid Sakura for the rest of his

life. There was just one thing bothering him though. For some reason he could remember Sakura screaming his name. Was that just a dream, or did they have sex

but he was too drunk to completely remember it?

For the next two days, Kakashi made sure to avoid Sakura at all costs. He left his apartment extra early just in case she decided to stop by to discuss what

happened between them. This was extremely hard for the ever late copy ninja. Getting out of his comfortable bed before noon was rough, but it had to be done he

thought as he forced himself out from under his covers. The silver haired ninja also made sure to stay out extra late, not in Konoha but in the woods, in order to

miss bumping in to Sakura on the street.

At around 3:30am on the second long and tiring day of Sakura dodging, Kakashi decided to head home. The streets were empty. All lights were out in Konoha

(except for the bars of course). The silver made sure to steer clear of the night district and went the long way back to his apartment. He could feel sleep coming on

and was not looking forward to spending the rest of his life getting up at the crack of dawn and staying up until almost the crack of dawn.

He found his key underneath the brick and went inside his apartment. All was quiet inside his little sanctuary. Kakashi quickly undressed, used the rest room, and

jumped in bed. "Ahh." he thought. "Time for some much needed rest." He closed his eyes only to snap them open again. "Cherry perfume." he thought. "Why do I

smell cherry perfume?" Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and surveyed his little bedroom. There was no one there but him. He got out of bed and searched his

apartment but still he was alone. A little confused, the silver ninja went back to bed and slept until dawn.

Annoyed by the lack of food in his fridge, Kakashi reluctantly went to the market. He hastily shopped and bought enough food to last him two months. He hurriedly

leapt from roof top to roof top trying to make it home before a certain pink haired ninja spotted him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he made it unnoticed to his

stoop. He quickly found his key and went inside his quiet apartment. Feeling more relaxed, the silver ninja put away all of his food except for an apple which he

took with him to his couch where he planned to read _Make out Tactics_ for like the thousandth time. He saw a slight blur out of the corner of his eye just as he was

about to unfasten his mask. "Someone's in here." the ninja thought as he slowly placed his apple on his lap. "Whoever's in here you mind as well come out." he

said as calmly and coolly as one would expect the great copy ninja to. All the calm left his body when Sakura appeared in his living room. She had been hiding in

his bedroom waiting for him to come home. "How did you get..." "In?" she finished his sentence. "I finally found out where you hide your key." was her answer.

"Sakura I…" "How long are you gonna avoid me? I've been trying to talk to you for days." He put down his book and apple and stood up. "I think you should go

Sakura." "No. We need to talk about this. We have known each other way too long to just let our relationship die like this." There were a few moments of silence.

Neither person knew exactly where to go from there. "I don't want to talk about this now. I think you should leave." was the silver ninja's reply. He walked towards

the door and opened it. Sakura's heart sank as she moved toward the door. She was on the stoop and was about to walk away when she got an idea. There were

people walking up and down the street. If Kakashi didn't want to talk to her she would force him to. The door had already been closed behind her when she turned

around. "Don't ignore me like this baby!" she screamed while banging on the door. "I promise I won't ask you to strip anymore! I won't even make you were the

leopard print thong if you don't want to please! Please oh please let me in!" Sakura yelled all of this to the top of her lungs wile pounding on the door. Before she

knew it a red hot Kakashi was pulling her into the apartment.

"Are you crazy!" he whispered angrily. He looked out of his window to see the people that had started to gather around the building leaving and shaking their

heads. "What is wrong with you?" he exclaimed Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the man before her. "Well you wouldn't talk to me so I thought I'd force you to.

You can throw me out again, but I'll just be noisier until you have to talk to me." she explained. The anger in the silver ninja's eyes subsided to defeat. "Okay

Sakura. You win." he said walking over to his couch and plopping down on it. Sakura sat next to him. "Why have you been avoiding me?" Kakashi said nothing.

"Everyone gets drunk every now and then." Sakura reassured. "Not me so much because I don't usually drink, but I've been out with Ino plenty of times and let

me tell you that girl is not a fun drunk. She falls all over the place and she'll curse you out in a second. Oh you definitely don't want to be around her too long or

you'll get spued on. Trust me I know from experience. Poor Choji didn't smell right for weeks." Sakura laughed a little, but the ninja beside her just wasn't in the

mood. "Kakashi sensei please talk to me." Nothing. "Kakashi sensei." Still nothing. "Kakashi please." He looked at the young woman beside him in surprise. "You

didn't call me sensei that time." Sakura thought that comment was a bit off subject, but at least he was speaking. "I guess I didn't. You haven't been my teacher

for six years now so I guess it's time I stopped calling you teacher." she said just trying to keep the conversation going.

"I was embarrassed okay." said the silver ninja as he got up and faced away from Sakura. "I just didn't want to lose your respect." he continued. Sakura

understandingly said, "But you haven't." Kakashi turned his head slightly. "Like I said before, everyone gets drunk. I'm used to taking care of my drunk friends."

"You consider us friends?" Sakura could hear the slight smile in his voice. "Well of course. We've known each other so long, and you are always there when I need

you. Why is it so embarrassing to you when I'm there for you when you need help?" Kakashi turned his face from Sakura again. "I'm not worrying about you

finding me drunk as much as what happened afterwards. I'm not exactly sure what happened between us. I did wake up almost nude in your bed remember." "Oh

I remember." said Sakura. She could feel Kakashi tense from where she sat on the couch. It slipped out before she had time to stop it. "I mean yeah you were in

my bed, but that doesn't mean we did…things." The silver ninja turned to look at his former pupil. "Did we have sex or not?" Sakura could feel her heart beat a

little faster. That was the one thing she wasn't quite sure about herself. "I don't… I don't think so. I mean I woke up fully clothed so…" "But I can distinctly

remember…uh..well…" "What?" asked the now curious pink ninja. "w Well… I … uh.. heard…uh some things that…uh make me think that maybe we…uh…" "What did

you hear?" "Well..uh..you.. you were…uh saying my name over and over again…screaming it actually." Sakura's eyes bulged and her and the ninja before her

turned bright red. There was a long and awkward moment of silence. "Uh…"started Sakura. "I think I can explain that." she bit her bottom lip feeling utterly

humiliated before she even tell the curious ninja anything. "I…um..might have been dreaming about…uh us doing things…Ino always told me after slumber parties

that I walk and talk in my sleep so…uh…"

Kakashi smiled for the first time in days. Sakura looked up to see the silver haired man before her looking down at her, and thought she detected a grin

underneath his mask. "So you were just dreaming?" he laughed. "We didn't actually…" he laughed and clapped his hands together. Sakura didn't understand what

was so funny. She felt like a total loser having to tell her former teacher she was dreaming about them having wild sex, and he was standing there laughing at her!

"What's so funny?" she asked kind of hurt. Kakashi seeing the hurt in her eyes went and sat next to her on the couch. "Oh Sakura I'm sorry. I'm just so relieved. I

thought for sure we had…uh you know." "But that doesn't explain you being in your boxers." she said trying to take some of the embarrassment off of her. The

silver ninja blushed slightly remembering his own faux pas. His answer was simple. "I always sleep in my boxers. Sometimes in the summer I sleep nude."

Instantly knowing that he gave out to much information, he began to turn red all over again. Sakura blushed at the thought of Kakashi nude. There was another

awkward silence.

"So have long have you been dreaming about us having sex?" smiled Kakashi. Sakura's mouth dropped open at her former teacher's bluntness. "Kakashi sensei!"

"Hey you said it yourself. I'm not your teacher anymore. You're a grown woman Sakura. There's nothing wrong with us talking about this right? Aren't you the one

that wanted to talk so badly? So let's talk." Kakashi was facing Sakura now and looking her dead in her eyes. Sakura didn't think she could move if she tried.

"Uh…" was all she managed to get out. Before Sakura knew it her hand was in his hand and his other hand was on her cheek. "Sakura there is no need to be

embarrassed. You're not the only one dreaming those sort of dreams." he said before slowly moving towards her lips.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Kakashi. Kakashi! Get off me man! It's not that kind of party!" The silver ninja regained consciousness after being pushed out of Gai's bed. Lying on his back on

the cold concrete floor of Gai's bachelor pad, Kakashi realized that it was all a dream. He hadn't run into Sakura, or passed out in her arms, or avoided her for days

after his nearly nude encounter with her in her bed.

"I am the winner and still champion of the Sake Drinking Battle Royale!" laughed Gai as her taunted the woozy ninja on the floor. "I don't know why you even

compete man! You know you could never hold your liquor." continued Gai jumping off his bed and leaning over to help his friend off of the floor.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into those stupid contests." said Kakashi as he tried to stable himself enough to stand unassisted. "HA!" laughed Gai watching

the usually cool Kakashi stumble around his room. "How did you end up in here man? I thought I left you on the couch." questioned the confused Gai. "I have no

idea." the silver ninja replied. "I had the strangest dream though." "Yeah? What about?" asked Gai while leaving the room and walking into his bathroom. Kakashi

could hear the precision of Gai's aim in the next room as he began to tell him what he had dreamt.

"Well I dreamt that I left the bar last night and ran into…" he stopped mid-sentence. Gai, who was wiping his freshly washed hands on a towel, came out of the

bathroom waiting to hear more. "You left the bar and ran into who?" Kakashi thought about his dream and all that happened during his dream. "Uh well I.." he

thought about his old friend Gai and what he might think about him fantasizing a former student of his. "I don't remember" lied Kakashi. Gai's jaw dropped before

he burst into laughter. "Man! You are really out of it! BEST GUY'S NIGHT EVER!" exclaimed Gai as he shook his friend and then walked out of his room to the

kitchen.

Kakashi sat on Gai's bed for a moment and collected himself. He still felt the effects of his night out, but he was starting to come out of it. After relieving himself,

the silver ninja made his way to the kitchen, fixed himself a cup of coffee, and sat at Gai's two man table. "We need to do this again next week." started Gai

sipping his coffee. "Oh no we can't next week." continued Gai. "Why not?" asked Kakashi even though he had already made up his mind to never drink with Gai

again. "Duh. Ino's big Valentine's dance is next weekend. I'm not going to miss my date with Kurenai." Kakashi had completely forgotten about Ino's party. She

had reminded him about it the other night at the bar. The silver ninja never actually planned to go to the stupid thing, but he kind of felt obligated to go since Ino

and Lee had made such a big deal about him coming.

"I need to go shopping." blurted out Gai interrupting Kakashi's thought. "This is my chance to impress Kurenai. I have to look perfect." Kakashi really didn't know

how to respond to what Gai had just said. So he said nothing. "So?" started Gai. "So what?" answered Kakashi. "What about you?" exclaimed Gai. "What are you

going to wear? Who are you going with? Do you have a date?" "Nothing. No one and no." "What?" said Gai. "You are going to the dance aren't you?" "I wasn't

planning on going." Gai looked at his friend. "Why not man? It's going to be fun. And plus the whole gang is going to be there. It won't be the same without you."

The silver ninja was touched. His friends really did care about his presence at the party. He didn't really think that it would matter so much if he came or not.

"It won't be hard for you to get a tuxe. The shop down in town is even having a buy one get one half off sale. When I go get mine you can get one too. So that's

not the problem." Gai was talking more to himself than his friend. "If it's finding a date you're worrying about, I'm pretty sure I could dig up someone for you..."

"Oh heck no!" exclaimed Kakashi. "What? I got girls." bragged Gai. "Yeah girls with paralyzing powers or some other crazy jutsu! I wouldn't let you set me with

another date if you paid me!" "Are you still talking about that date that one time? It was years ago and you didn't get raped! Shoot, if two girls were fighting over

me like that, that would have been the best day of my life!" Kakashi rolled his eyes as he stood carefully to his feet. "No thanks. I can find my own date." "So you

are coming to the party then?" said Gai excitedly. The silver ninja thought for a moment. He knew if he didn't go that Ino would be insulted and he would have to

hear all kinds of stories about that party for the rest of his life. He would always feel left out. Even though Kakashi never tried to fit in with the in crowd, he didn't

really want to be left out either.

"I guess I can make an appearance for a little bit. I think an hour of Valentines nonsense won't kill me." said Kakashi defeated. "Ok now that's more like it!" said

Gai jumping out of his chair. "But I can get my _own_ date. Or maybe I'll just come alone. It'll be easier to leave whenever I want." "You can't come alone Kakashi.

You'll look pathetic." teased Gai. "Just be glad I'm coming." said the silver ninja as he neared the window. "I'll see you later." he continued as he leapt out of the

window and was soon out of sight. "You could have at least thanked me for dragging your drunk butt home and letting you fondle me in your sleep!" screamed Gai

out of the window drawing the attention of the passersby on the street below.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It was a few days from Valentine's Day, and Sakura could feel the pressure to find a date for Ino's ball no matter where she went. At the hospital all the giddy

nurses where neglecting their patients because they were so busy talking about the color of their dresses, their hair styles, or their dates. On her way home from

work, Sakura nearly got trampled by all the excited shoppers and couples roaming the streets.

"This is ridiculous!" thought Sakura as she ducked into the nearest safe haven. The bar was unsurprisingly empty that night. "Safe at last." said Sakura aloud. "I

don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it home." she continued while looking out of the bar's doors. "Who cares about stupid Valentine's Day anyway! I mean it's

just a stupid ploy to get people's money!" "Exactly." said a familiar voice. Sakura turned around to see her former teacher hunched over at the bar. With cup in

hand, he continued, "There's no need for all of this. If a person is in love, they should show it all year round not just on one day."

Sakura was surprised to see her former teacher and was even more surprised to hear him speak so openly about his feelings for the upcoming holiday. "So you

hate Valentine's Day too Kakashi sensei?" said Sakura. "Yep." said the silver ninja patting the barstool next to him. Sakura sat down next to her former teacher

feeling like their meeting was little odd. "Another sake" ordered Kakashi. The bartender quickly placed the drink and cup in front of Sakura. "Oh I don't usually

drink Kakashi sensei. Maybe I should just get a coke or something." "Oh live a little Sakura." coaxed Kakashi.

The pink ninja couldn't help but be tickled a little by the inebriated man next to her. This was a surreal moment for Sakura. The most calm and sober minded man

in Konoha sat sloshed right next to her. His visible eye was glassy, he didn't look to stable on his stool, and he was more talkative than she had ever known him to

be. Sakura didn't know what happening, but she had nothing else to do that night. Why not drink with her former teacher and gripe about her least favorite

holiday.

Hours and hours went by. Bottle after of bottle of sake was ingested. And the two drunkards were eventually ushered out of the closing bar. The streets of Konoha

were empty except for the two swaying figures of Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura. After nearly toppling over mailboxes, fire hydrants, and flat cracks on

sidewalks, the pair decided to lock arms to stable each other.

"Where are we (hic) going Kakashi sensei?" asked the wobbly little ninja "(hic) Home." choked out the large man on her arm. "But my home is not over here."

Sakura said while trying to pull her former teacher to the left. "I live this way." "But (hic) I live this way." said the silver ninja pulling the small woman to the right.

"But I don't want to go to your apartment. (hic) I want to go to mine." she protested. "What's wrong with my apartment (hic)? I think it's pretty nice." defended

Kakashi. "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Okay sensei. I'll go home with you." "Now that's (hic) more like it." said Kakashi as the pair swayed in the direction of his apartment.

Kakashi propped Sakura up against the wall as he got his key from under the brick under his welcome mat. He helped the sliding woman off the ground and the

two walked arm and arm into his apartment. (It's a good thing it was so late at night or this would have been a very odd sight for anyone who knew the two ninja.)

Once inside the apartment Kakashi quickly shed his outer layers revealing his navy blue boxer briefs. Sakura sat wide eyed on the couch and watched the

impromptu strip tease. "I wish I had some singles." said Sakura as the silver ninja threw his clothes into a pile on his living room floor. "My turn." said Sakura

trying to stand up without falling. First off went her red dress. Then her boots were the next items to go. Finally Sakura shed her last layer of clothing, her black

shorts, leaving the pink ninja standing in her pale pink bra and matching panties. Kakashi stood speechless for a moment and took in the sight of the small, nearly

naked woman, before him.

"Sakura." was all the silver ninja could say as his manhood began to stiffen. "I'm sleepy." blurted out Sakura not noticing the way her former teacher was staring

at her. "I'm going to bed." she continued trying to make it to Kakashi's bedroom without falling. "Wait Sakura. Let's go together." reasoned the rapidly sobering

silver ninja.

Sakura flopped on Kakashi's bed and moved over to give him room to get in. The silver ninja stood over his former student and soaked in every bit of what he saw.

Sakura eyelids began to get heavier and heavier. She looked up to see the boxer brief clad Kakashi standing and staring at her. An involuntary smile crept over

Sakura's face. "Why are you smiling?" asked the confused yet intrigued Kakashi. "I like what I see." blushed the pink ninja as her eyes strolled up and down the

muscular man before her. Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the attractive young woman in his bed. He slowly bent towards her open arms and was sweetly

enclosed in them.

Their eyes were locked on each others. Their legs were intertwined. Kakashi slowly moved towards those soft lips he often fantasized about. Just before he could

reach her lips, Sakura stopped him. "Silly Kakashi sensei." giggled the pink ninja. "What?" asked the confused ninja. "How can you kiss me with that mask on?" she

laughed. The pair laughed for a moment, and then Kakashi lifted his hand to pull off his mask. Sakura tried to keep her eyes from closing. She had always wanted

to see Kakashi sensei maskless, and now was her chance.

Finally rid of the hot mask, Kakashi moved in to kiss Sakura. Her lips were as soft as he had imagined, but there was no passion behind them. He open his eyes to

see Sakura's eyes still closed. "Sakura. Sakura." A little snore came from the little woman in his arms. "She's asleep?" thought the disappointed ninja. "I guess I

should get some sleep too." thought Kakashi as he grabbed his mask and put it back on. After taking one last stare at the pink ninja in his arms, the woozy ninja

let sleep overtake him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sakura awoke in her bed in her pajamas and confused. "This is weird." thought Sakura sitting up. "Ow! My head!" she said aloud feeling an intense and sudden

headache. "I don't even remember making it home last night." Sakura said rubbing her aching head. "Okay let me recap. I was walking home from work and there

were a lot of people out shopping. I went to the bar because it was the only safe place to be. Then I saw…" Sakura stopped for a moment as the events from the

night before started rushing back. "Me and Kakashi sensei drank and talked all night. We went back to his place and…" she paused for a moment. "He undressed. I

undressed. WE WERE IN BED TOGETHER!" Sakura sat wide-eyed for a moment. "Did we have sex? How did I end up here? Why did he bring me here? He dressed

me and put me in bed! Why? Did he not want me to remember we had sex? Was he embarrassed? Was I a cheap f*k?" All of these thoughts swirled through

Sakura's throbbing head. She started to feel sick.

"How am I supposed to face him again?" thought Sakura as tears started rolling down her face. She was glad she didn't have to work that day. There was no way

she wanted to leave her apartment and chance running into _him_. The pink ninja spent the day moping, crying, and trying to figure out how to leave Konoha forever

without being noticed.

After a less than peaceful night sleep, Sakura got up to make herself some breakfast (well she was going to warm up one of those oatmeal packets and drink some

juice). "There's no food here." said Sakura aloud knowing that she would have to venture out of her safe haven. The young ninja lethargically washed, dressed,

and made her way to the market.

Sakura quickly purchased as much food as she could carry and was racing home when she overheard a conversation between two of nurses from her ward. "Man

that really sucks Jen." said the first nurse. "Everybody's been looking forward to Ino's ball for months!" she continued. "It's not fair Meg! Why do I get called into

work on the biggest night of the year? I just picked up my dress yesterday. Do you know it took me three full months to save up for that dress? And I finally got

Michael, you know that hot new resident, to finally notice me! He asked to the ball and I nearly died." exclaimed the second nurse. "That really suck Jen." repeated

Meg. "It's just not fair!" cried Jen

"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation girls, but I couldn't help but overhear your dilemma." 'Oh Hi Haruno san." sulked Jen. "Hi Haruno san." echoed Meg. "Yeah

Jen got called into work because old bucktooth Mrs. James actually got a date for the ball and decided to take her day off instead of switching shifts with Jen like

she promised!" Meg continued. "Oh man that's unfair." started Sakura. "But I think I can help you out. You see, I'm not going to the ball and…" "Wait. You're not

going Haruno san? Why not? Everyone is going to be there! Well except Jen." "Thanks for rubbing it in Meg!" "I'm sorry I was just…" "Well if you would let me

finish." interrupted Sakura. "I'm not going to the ball. Valentine's Day really isn't my thing." she lied. " I can take your shift for you Jen since you were already

planning to go to the ball. I mean I wouldn't want all your hard work to get the dress and the man to go to waste." Before she knew it, Sakura was tackled by both

the ecstatic nurses. "Thank you Haruno san! Thank you!" cheered the girls in unison. "I'll make this up to you I promise Haruno san!" said Jen helping Sakura off of

the sidewalk. "That's ok Jen. You don't have to make it up to me. Just seeing you happy is enough for me." said Sakura as she gathered her groceries and walked

away.

"I'm so glad you get to go to the ball Jen!" laughed Meg. "Me too! I can't believe how sweet Haruno san is." Jen smiled. "Yeah it's just too sad she such an old

spinster though. I mean she's only twenty years old and she already can't get a man. I could see if she was ugly or something, but she's kinda cute now. You know

since she grew a pair." whispered Meg. Sakura was not quite out of ear shot and she heard the girls' hurtful words. "I'm not a spinster." thought Sakura.

The pink haired ninja walked slumped shouldered all the way back to her lonely apartment. "Maybe I should just get a cat or fifty." thought Sakura as she put her

purchases away. The young ninja was depressed yet she saw a glimmer of hope in her situation. "At least I won't have to feel like a lonely dork at the ball. And at

least I won't have to get drunk just to make it through the night. And at least I won't have to see…He'll probably be looking ultra sexy in his tuxe and messy hair.

Stupid masked jerk!"said Sakura out loud. "Yeah. I'll work right through the whole stupid ball and and…"tears welled in her eyes. "I'll be alone forever."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Hatake Kakashi once again was on his way back to Konoha after a successful mission when he was ambushed. He barely made it out alive. The silver ninja made it

to Konoha's general hospital and passed out on the steps outside.

Sakura sat alone at the emergency ward desk and wondered what all of her friends were doing at the ball. Were they talking about her, laughing at her? Did

anyone even notice she wasn't there? Just as Sakura was settling into a good funk, she was called into the E.R.

"Haruno san we have a patient. Your favorite one in fact." said the older nurse as she rushed by. "My favorite?" thought Sakura confused. She hurried to the E.R.

to see the only person she never wanted to see again.

Kakashi lay motionless on the gurney looking helpless. Sakura's heart nearly burst out of her chest when she saw him. "Come on Sakura I need some help!" called

the nurse trying to rip Kakashi's pants leg to reveal his wound. Ever professional, Sakura sucked up her pride and began to heal the man she felt slighted by.

Hours went by and Kakashi was still unconscious. His body had been healed completely, he was just sleeping off the sleep inducing pain medication that he was

given. Sakura was happy he was still asleep. The other nurse was on break and it would be Sakura who would have to take care of the sleeping man if he awoke.

Sakura dreaded every second of her shift. Kakashi could wake up at any minute, and she would have to attend to him.

"Mmmm" Sakura could hear her former teacher moving in the room across from her desk. She heard sheets rustling and then a huge thud. "Oh my gosh Kakashi

sensei!" screamed Sakura as she ran to his room. On the floor was the drowsy ninja looking pitiful. Sakura gently helped her former teacher to his feet and back

into his bed.

"Where am I?"asked the dazed man. "You're in the hospital." said Sakura reluctantly. Kakashi's eyes slowly opened to see the little pink haired nurse staring at him

with her huge emerald eyes. "Sakura?" "Yes sensei it's me." said the embarrassed woman. "Why aren't you at the ball?" asked the silver ninja. Sakura thought this

was an odd question from a man who just woke up in the hospital. "I didn't feel like going. I hate Valentine's Day." was her excuse. "Yeah I remember we talked

about that the other day…well night." "Yeah we did. I'm surprised you remember that night." said Sakura annoyed at his nonchalance about the subject. "Yeah I

remember that night. I noticed you've been avoiding me lately too." Sakura was completely put out by the last comment. "Well do you blame me? After the way

you treated me, you better be glad I didn't let you die tonight!" shouted the angry nurse. "Me? The way I treated you? What about the way you treated me

Sakura?" "What are you talking about Kakashi?" "You use my first name when you're upset with me I see, but you have no right to be upset. I do." "How can you

say that when you have your _way_ with me then drop me off at my house like nothing ever happened." defended Sakura. "What are you talking about Sakura? I did

no such thing! We got drunk, went to my apartment, and yes I admit we did do some things that were out of character, but…" "Out of character? You mean the

whole stripping and having SEX thing?" "Shoosh! Calm down Sakura! You'll wake the dead." "Oh now you're all embarrassed of what happened?" said Sakura

fuming and pacing the room. "Sakura, nothing happened." "What?" asked the confused nurse "What do you mean nothing happened? We were practically _naked _in

your bed all night and you're telling me nothing happened." "That's exactly what I'm telling you Sakura. We did nothing." stated the sliver ninja plainly. "If we did

nothing, then why did you take me home before I woke up? You thought I wouldn't remember what happened or something?" "Sakura, we've been through this

before." "What? What are you talking about? We've never had this conversation before." "No we didn't have this conversation, but we have been through this

before. Don't you remember the first time something like this happened?" Sakura's face was blank. Kakashi sat up in his bed and sat looking astonished for a

moment. "You really don't remember do you?" The pink haired ninja shook her head no. "Well let me remind you. You came to my house about two weeks ago and

said you had to ask me a question. I let you into my house and…" the silver ninja paused thinking about his next words. He wasn't sure he wanted to remind

Sakura about their first odd meeting, but he felt he had to in order to repair their relationship.

"When I opened the door, I neglected to check my face. I wasn't wearing my mask Sakura." The pink ninja let out a great gasp. "Yeah. You caught me without my

mask, and you fainted. I took you inside and laid you on my couch. You woke up. By then I had my mask on. You didn't seem to remember what happened so I

invited you to stay for lunch so you could ask me what you came to ask and because I had food on the table and you were hungry. while you were eating you

noticed I wasn't. Then you said I couldn't because of my mask, and then you remembered you saw me without my mask. You got to leave because you said

something that you must not have meant to say. But before you left… I stopped you. I was intrigued." "You stopped me?" interrupted Sakura. "What did I say?" A

small smile crossed the ninja's mask as he said, "You said I was…hot." Sakura's face burned with humiliation. "I said what?" whispered the young nurse in disbelief.

"I was flattered and a good bit relieved by that statement. I was hoping you didn't pass out because you thought I was hideous or something." Sakura couldn't

help but looked surprised. "Did he really think I thought he was ugly?" she thought.

"I never thought you thought of me other than as a former sensei. When you said I was hot, that made me…I don't know how or if I want to say this but… I tried

to…kiss you." Sakura's eyes nearly fell out f her head. The hottest man in Konoha, the man she had had a crush on for four whole years tried to kiss her! "As I

leaned in you uh… you kinda passed out again."

Sakura could feel her legs going. She needed a place to sit down. The word humiliated was not strong enough for the way she felt at that moment. A sexy man

tried to kiss her and she had passed out. Kakashi continued his story. "I put you back on the couch and went to get a cold cloth to put on your head, but when I

came back, you were gone. I thought you were just embarrassed maybe and wanted to leave before I returned. I didn't take that to heart as much as I did this last

time. I mean I know we were drunk and all, but I was sober enough to realize what was going on. We were in bed. We were about to kiss, and then you fell asleep.

I was a bit… I'll admit it. I was hurt, but I chalked it up to the alcohol. But when I woke up you were gone. That was a deep cut Sakura. I can see it happening

once but twice."

Sakura couldn't help but the see the man in front of her in a different light. For the first time, Sakura could see Kakashi as a normal person. He had insecurities

and worries just like everyone else.

The young nurse sat on the cold hospital floor flabbergasted. First of all, she never thought Kakashi sensei could talk that much. Second, she was to blame for all

the drama. For the longest she thought Kakashi was the guilty party, but it was her. Sakura remembered being told after slumber parties that she spoke in her

sleep and walked in her sleep. She must have slipped out of Kakashi's apartment.

"I'm sorry Kakashi." started the little woman on the floor. "I completely thought you were trying to get rid of me this last time and I honestly forgot the first

incident until now. I'm sorry I hurt you." Sakura could feel the tears welling and she wanted to leave before the waterworks were visible. Just before she reached

the door, she felt a hand holding hers. She turned around to see the unstable ninja gazing down at her.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet. You're still recovering." said Sakura trying to maintain some composure. Kakashi said nothing but softly wiped the tears from

Sakura's face. "Sakura misunderstandings happen. You don't have to leave every time something happens you don't understand." the silver ninja's calm words

coaxed Sakura back into the room. Kakashi closed the door and led the young nurse to the bed.

"Sit down." said the tall ninja. Sakura obeyed. "We need to discuss the nature of our relationship once-and-for-all." Sakura nodded in agreement. "I know it might

be strange moving from one type of relationship to another, but we are both adults here and…" Before he could finish, Sakura planted a huge kiss on her former

teacher's masked mouth. The silver ninja's visible eye widened in surprise. A moment of silence ensued. Sakura began to think that maybe she had done the

wrong thing, and that maybe it was too late to try for a romantic relationship and that she had caused some irreversible damage. Just as Sakura was thinking of

making a hasty retreat, Kakashi spoke, "Sakura, if you're going to do that you have to give me a chance to remove the barrier between us first."

Kakashi lifted Sakura hand and placed it on his mask. Her heart was racing. "Is Kakashi going to let me…de-mask him." thought the young nurse. The silver ninja

pulled his headband off and waited for the pink haired woman before him to do the rest. Bit by bit, Sakura started to pull down the mask. She wanted to savor

every second of this historic event. Slowly a nose, chiseled stubble covered jaws, soft lips and a strong chin revealed themselves. Sakura's mind was instantly

flooded with memories of the first time she saw the gorgeous man's face. All sorts of feelings swept over the young nurse. She had no intention of passing out this

time.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile seeing the reaction his face was having on the woman before him. Sakura quickly got up and locked the door. "Why did you lock

the door?" asked Kakashi half surprised half knowing fully what was about to happen. The silver ninja's grin began to grow the closer Sakura came to him. Before

he knew it, she had straddled him.

"Sakura. Wait Sakura. Be gentle. Remember I'm still recovering." laughed the happy ninja as Sakura covered his face with many kisses. She slowed down as she

neared his mouth. Kakashi watched the young woman's emerald eyes survey his lips. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation. Just before she plunged in, Kakashi

flipped her over on her back. Sakura couldn't hide her surprise. "I wanna be on top." was all the silver ninja said before he planted sensual kisses all over the

woman below him.

"This is so much better than a stupid party." thought Kakashi. "Best Valentine's Day EVER!" thought Sakura.

The End


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